The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday, Nov. 23, said it will seek approval from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) regarding the three big-ticket railway projects to update costs following implementation delays.

“Ang gagawin natin dito kukuha muna tayo ng update approval. Tingin ko magkakaroon ito ng additional cost because of the delay, cost of materials, labor, so kailangan i-update natin yan,” DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a press statement posted on DOTr's official Facebook page.

“For us to be able to continue this projects, we need to get approval from NEDA for increase in cost,” he added.

The projects include the South Long Haul Project, Mindanao Railway Project, and Subic-Clark Railway.

The transport agency noted that approval was needed because the three projects were under the previous administration and should be updated.

Bautista was also considering official development assistance (ODA) or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) schemes to fund the railway projects with the administration shelling out to acquire right-of-way.

This came after the transport agency opted to drop China as its partner to fund the projects.

“Itong tatlong railway projects na ito can either be financed by ODA, Public-Private Partnership or the government. We’re looking at those three sources to finance these projects,” the DOTr chief said.

“Yung right of way, hindi 'yan covered ng ODA. So, ito ay magiging gastos ng gobyerno,” he added.

Baustista said that aside from ODA or PPP, the transport agency is also considering the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as options to fund the railway projects.